Nickolas Muray (1892 - 1965)

Photographer and photoengraver Nickolas Muray (originally Miklós Mandl) was born in Szeged, Hungary, and began his study of photographic processes at age twelve in Budapest, where he earned an Engraver’s Certificate, followed by three years studying color photoengraving in Berlin. Upon graduation, he worked for the German publisher Ullstein, but left for the United States in 1913. Upon arrival, Muray produced color separations and halftone negatives for Condé Nast Publishing in New York.

In about 1920, he opened a portrait studio in his Greenwich Village apartment, the start of a forty-year career in freelance advertising, fashion, commercial, and magazine photography. A 1921 portrait commission from Harper’s Bazaar to photograph actress Florence Reed led to a long and highly successful run of celebrity portraits in that publication. In 1926 he was commissioned by Vanity Fair to produce celebrity portraits in London, Berlin, and Paris, followed in 1929 by a lengthy period of work in Hollywood. He produced a body of portrait work numbering some ten thousand images; perhaps the most famous of these was a 1938 portrait of artist Frida Kahlo, with whom he had a decade-long affair, and whom he photographed on numerous occasions.

In the 1930s, Muray focused on commercial work and, thanks to his extensive technical training, pioneered the imaginative and innovative use of color in a series of iconic advertising images during that time. An accomplished Olympic athlete, who competed as a fencer in both the 1928 and 1932 Olympic games, Muray died, appropriately enough, while fencing in New York.

Nickolas Muray (1892 - 1965)

Photographer and photoengraver Nickolas Muray (originally Miklós Mandl) was born in Szeged, Hungary, and began his study of photographic processes at age twelve in Budapest, where he earned an Engraver’s Certificate, followed by three years studying color photoengraving in Berlin. Upon graduation, he worked for the German publisher Ullstein, but left for the United States in 1913. Upon arrival, Muray produced color separations and halftone negatives for Condé Nast Publishing in New York.

In about 1920, he opened a portrait studio in his Greenwich Village apartment, the start of a forty-year career in freelance advertising, fashion, commercial, and magazine photography. A 1921 portrait commission from Harper’s Bazaar to photograph actress Florence Reed led to a long and highly successful run of celebrity portraits in that publication. In 1926 he was commissioned by Vanity Fair to produce celebrity portraits in London, Berlin, and Paris, followed in 1929 by a lengthy period of work in Hollywood. He produced a body of portrait work numbering some ten thousand images; perhaps the most famous of these was a 1938 portrait of artist Frida Kahlo, with whom he had a decade-long affair, and whom he photographed on numerous occasions.

In the 1930s, Muray focused on commercial work and, thanks to his extensive technical training, pioneered the imaginative and innovative use of color in a series of iconic advertising images during that time. An accomplished Olympic athlete, who competed as a fencer in both the 1928 and 1932 Olympic games, Muray died, appropriately enough, while fencing in New York.

Gloria Swanson

Silver gelatin print, 1978; printed from the original negative created 1920s. Overall print 8" x 10" in a 14" x 17" archival mount and mat. From the portfolio "Nickolas Muray: A Portfolio of Twelve Photographs," published by the International Museum of Photography (Now the George Eastman Museum), Rochester, New York and Prakapas Gallery, New York, New York in a stated edition of 100. It is uncertain whether the entire edition was printed, so the actual number of prints in existence isnot known. A beautifully printed image in fine condition.

$1,800

Charlie Chaplin

Silver gelatin print, 1978; printed from the original negative created 1924. Overall print 8" x 10" in a 14" x 17" Archival mount and mat. From the portfolio Nickolas Muray: A Portfolio of Twelve Photographs, published in 1978 by International Museum of Photography (now the George Eastman Museum), Rochester New York and Prakapas Gallery, New York, New York in a stated edition of 100. It is uncertain whether the entire edition was printed, so the actual number of prints in existence is not known. A beautifully printed image in fine condition.

$1,800

Ruth Draper

Silver gelatin print, 1978; printed from the original negative created 1920s. Overall print 8" x 10" in a 14" x 17" Archival mount and mat. From the portfolio Nickolas Muray: A Portfolio of Twelve Photographs, published in 1978 by International Museum of Photography (now the George Eastman Museum), Rochester New York and Prakapas Gallery, New York, New York in a stated edition of 100. It is uncertain whether the entire edition was printed, so the actual number of prints in existence is not known. A beautifully printed image in fine condition.

$1,750

Claude Monet

Silver gelatin print, 1978; printed from the original negative created 1926. Overall print 8" x 10" in a 14" x 17" Archival mount and mat. From the portfolio Nickolas Muray: A Portfolio of Twelve Photographs, published in 1978 by International Museum of Photography (now the George Eastman Museum), Rochester New York and Prakapas Gallery, New York, New York in a stated edition of 100. It is uncertain whether the entire edition was printed, so the actual number of prints in existence is not known. A beautifully printed image in fine condition.

$1,200

Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford

Silver gelatin print, 1978; printed from the original negative created 1929. Overall print 8" x 10" in a 14" x 17" Archival mount and mat. From the portfolio Nickolas Muray: A Portfolio of Twelve Photographs, published in 1978 by International Museum of Photography (now the George Eastman Museum), Rochester New York and Prakapas Gallery, New York, New York in a stated edition of 100. It is uncertain whether the entire edition was printed, so the actual number of prints in existence is not known. A beautifully printed image in fine condition.

$750

Babe Ruth

Silver gelatin print, 1978; printed from the original negative created 1927. Overall print 8" x 10" in a 14" x 17" Archival mount and mat. From the portfolio Nickolas Muray: A Portfolio of Twelve Photographs, published in 1978 by International Museum of Photography (now the George Eastman Museum), Rochester New York and Prakapas Gallery, New York, New York in a stated edition of 100. It is uncertain whether the entire edition was printed, so the actual number of prints in existence is not known. A beautifully printed image in fine condition.

$1,500

Gertrude Lawrence

Silver gelatin print, 1978; printed from the original negative created 1920s. Overall print 8" x 10" in a 14" x 17" Archival mount and mat. From the portfolio Nickolas Muray: A Portfolio of Twelve Photographs, published in 1978 by International Museum of Photography (now the George Eastman Museum), Rochester New York and Prakapas Gallery, New York, New York in a stated edition of 100. It is uncertain whether the entire edition was printed, so the actual number of prints in existence is not known. A beautifully printed image in fine condition.

$1,100

Loretta Young and Her Sisters

Silver gelatin print, 1978; printed from the original negative created 1920s. Overall print 8" x 10" in a 14" x 17" Archival mount and mat. From the portfolio Nickolas Muray: A Portfolio of Twelve Photographs, published in 1978 by International Museum of Photography (now the George Eastman Museum), Rochester New York and Prakapas Gallery, New York, New York in a stated edition of 100. It is uncertain whether the entire edition was printed, so the actual number of prints in existence is not known. A beautifully printed image in fine condition.

$900

Martha Graham

Silver gelatin print, 1978; printed from the original negative created 1926. Overall print 8" x 10" in a 14" x 17" Archival mount and mat. From the portfolio Nickolas Muray: A Portfolio of Twelve Photographs, published in 1978 by International Museum of Photography (now the George Eastman Museum), Rochester New York and Prakapas Gallery, New York, New York in a stated edition of 100. It is uncertain whether the entire edition was printed, so the actual number of prints in existence is not known. A beautifully printed image in fine condition.

$1,500

Michio Ito

Silver gelatin print, 1978; printed from the original negative created 1926. Overall print 8" x 10" in a 14" x 17" Archival mount and mat. From the portfolio Nickolas Muray: A Portfolio of Twelve Photographs, published in 1978 by International Museum of Photography (now the George Eastman Museum), Rochester New York and Prakapas Gallery, New York, New York in a stated edition of 100. It is uncertain whether the entire edition was printed, so the actual number of prints in existence is not known. A beautifully printed image in fine condition.

$1,500

Nude Study From The Rear

Silver gelatin print, 1978; printed from the original negative created 1920s. Overall print 8" x 10" in a 14" x 17" Archival mount and mat. From the portfolio Nickolas Muray: A Portfolio of Twelve Photographs, published in 1978 by International Museum of Photography (now the George Eastman Museum), Rochester New York and Prakapas Gallery, New York, New York in a stated edition of 100. It is uncertain whether the entire edition was printed, so the actual number of prints in existence is not known. A beautifully printed image in fine condition.

$1,200

Nude Study

Silver gelatin print, 1978; printed from the original negative created 1920s. Overall print 8" x 10" in a 14" x 17" Archival mount and mat. From the portfolio Nickolas Muray: A Portfolio of Twelve Photographs, published in 1978 by International Museum of Photography (now the George Eastman Museum), Rochester New York and Prakapas Gallery, New York, New York in a stated edition of 100. It is uncertain whether the entire edition was printed, so the actual number of prints in existence is not known. A beautifully printed image in fine condition.